Appalachian Brewing Company- Pennypacker Porter

First let me apologize for the picture. I recently joined the Appalachian Brewing Company mug club, but this year's mug is not clear. The first beer I got in the mug was the October specialty Pennypacker Porter. The beer is dark brown with a tan frothy head. The smell is malty with hints of toasted malts. The taste is nutty and very smooth with a light hop accent on the finish.The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. I really like this porter as it is sweet and easily drinkable with a nice toasted taste.

Saranac Black Forest

The second beer I tried out of the “12 Beers A Falling” sampler pack from Saranac was the Black Forest. The beer is black in color with a thin bubbly head. The beer smells sweet and malty. The taste is malty and is sweet with caramel hints. The beer finishes with a nutty undertone and a little dry. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. I was surprised with this beer, as it is somewhat sweet for how dark it is. It was a thoroughly enjoyable beer, as it has several levels of taste, ranging from sweetness to nuttiness to bitterness.

Saranac Caramel Porter

I picked up a case of the “12 Beers A Falling” from Saranac and opened up the Caramel Porter first. The beer has a dark brown color with a tan lofty head. There is a very powerful aroma with caramel and sugar hints. The smell is very similar to a caramel candy or ice cream topping. The taste is sweet with caramel accents and nutty undertone, but not too sweet. The beer finishes a little dry and bitter from the hops, which makes it more beer-like than candy-like. The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. I was a little worried about this beer from the smell, as it is very sweet and overpowering, but the all-around flavor of the beer is outstanding and it drinks more like a porter than candy.

Iron Hill's Gathering of the Gourds

I went to the Gathering of the Gourds at Iron Hill in West Chester and the following are the beers I tried:

Iron Hill Ichabod Imperial Belgian Pumpkin Ale

The first beer I had was Iron Hill's Ichabod Imperial Belgian Pumpkin Ale. The beer is orange amber in color with a thin film head. It smells sweet and with allspice accents. The taste is sweet with an excellent accent of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. I thought that this beer was an excellent start to the evening. The pumpkin flavor was excellent and there was a caramel accent.

Iron Hill Punktoberfest

The second beer I tried was Iron Hill's Punktoberfest. The beer is golden orange in color with a white frothy head. It smells of cinnamon. The taste consists of ginger and cinnamon with light accents on pumpkin and vanilla. The cinnamon is powerful and overriding, but it is a welcome variation to pumpkin beers. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. After trying all of the beers for the night, this ended up being my second favorite. I thought that the cinnamon accents in this beer was an excellent balance to the pumpkin flavor.

Iron Hill Boom Sticke Pumpkin Alt

The third beer I had was Iron Hill's Boom Sticke Pumpkin Alt. The beer is dark brown with not much head. The beer smells nutty, which is not what I was expecting from a pumpkin beer. The taste is nutty with slight sweet pumpkin undertone, but it doesn't hint too much on the pumpkin. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. I was not too impressed with this beer as a pumpkin beer, but it was a decent brown ale, hinting on caramel and graham cracker tastes.

Iron Hill Bruce Camp-Ale

The fourth beer I tried was Iron Hill's Bruce Camp-Ale. The beer is orange amber in color with no head. The beer smells of ginger, vanilla and pumpkin. The beer has an excellent pumpkin taste. The Bruce Camp-Ale is the Ichabod Imperial Belgian Pumpkin Ale aged in bourbon barrels, and the bourbon mellowed the spices from the Ichabod. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV, the same as the Ichabod. I thought that the bourbon aging brought out the pumpkin flavor in the beer and mellowed the spices.

Stewart's Mischief Night Pumpkin

The fifth beer that I had at Iron Hill was Stewart's Mischief Night Pumpkin Ale. The beer is orange in color with no head. The beer smells of pumpkin and vanilla. It tastes light on pumpkin with slight cinnamon and ginger accents. The beer finishes dry due to the cinnamon and nutmeg in it. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I thought that this beer was a solid pumpkin beer, but it was not too daring. The goal of this beer seems to be to make a great pumpkin flavored beer without too much else, and it succeeded.

Iron Hill Ichabod Imperial Belgian Pumpkin Ale Tap

The greatest moment of the night was the tapping of the large pumpkin filled with Ichabod Imperial Belgian Pumpkin Ale. The biggest difference is that this version is much more packed with pumpkin flavor. I thought that aging it in the pumpkin really gave it more pumpkin flavor and completely enjoyable.

Elysian's The Great Pumpkin

The final beer I had for the night was Elysian's The Great Pumpkin. The beer is orange in color with a light head. It has a cinnamon and pumpkin aroma. The taste is sweet and consists of pumpkin and nutmeg. It has a slight cinnamon and ginger finish. The alcohol content is 7.2% ABV. This was my favorite beer of the night, as I thought that the pumpkin flavors and spices were delicately and perfectly balanced. The pumpkin taste lingered on the tongue long enough before being replaced with the other spices. This is a must try.

Troegs Scratch 24- Van de Hoorn

I stopped by the Troegs tasting room to pick up a growler and a six-pack of Scratch 24- Van de Hoorn. This scratch beer is includes Troegenator wort fermented with Mad Elf yeast. The beer is dark amber with light red hues and a thin film for head. The aroma is sweet and malty with hints of spice. The taste is sweet and malty at first, finishes with spices similar to that of Mad Elf. The alcohol content is 8% ABV. I thought that this is an excellent beer combination and that the Troegnator wort and Mad Elf yeast compliments each other nicely. It really makes for an enjoyable experience.

Erie Ryebender

McGrath's in Harrisburg had Erie Ryebender on draft and I ordered a glass. The beer is copper in color with a light head. There aroma was very faint, but I picked up grains and sweet malts. The taste is smooth and creamy with light hints of rye and malt accents. There is a sweetness of caramel in the undertone and the beer finishes dry with the kick of rye. I was not able to locate the alcohol content online, as the beer is not on Erie's website. I thought that this is a very good rye beer and it drinks very easily, while maintaining a sweet flavor.

Samuel Adams Oktoberfest

I'm not sure why I haven't had a glass of Samuel Adams Oktoberfest this year, but I ordered one with dinner the other night. The beer is amber in color with a light frothy head. It smells malty with hints of sourness. The taste is nice and malty. The surprise with this beer is the light carbonation on the tongue that tickles the tongue a bit. The alcohol content is 5.7% ABV, I thought that the Sam Adams Oktoberfest was a very good Oktoberfest, one that I would order again and again.

Stoudt's Bock

Another bottle I picked up at Stoudt's brewery was a 26-ounce bottle of the Bock. The beer is a reddish amber color with a light frothy head. It smells sweet and malty. The taste is malty and sour, with slightly toasted malts and caramel undertone. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. I thought that this is a unique and delicioius bock, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you get a chance to swing by the brewery and pick up a bottle (only place it's available as far as I know), I suggest you do so.

Stoudt's Brewers Reserve Belgian-Style Quad

When I was at the Stoudt's brewery, I picked up a 26-ounce bottle of the Brewers Reserve Belgian-Style Quad. I read that this was a limited edition on the website, so I could not pass up the opportunity to try it. The beer is purple-amber in color with absolutely no head at all. It has a sweet fruity aroma, consisting of hints of grapes and alcohol. The taste is powerful, filled with raisins, bananas, and of course alcohol. I thought that it really kicks with alcohol, which causes the beer to finishes a little dry. The alcohol content is 11% ABV. Overall, I thought that the Brewers Reserve Belgian-Style Quad was an excellent quad that definitely packs a punch. If you are looking for complex beer with a high alcohol content, this Quad from Stoudt will leave you satisfied.

Otter Creek Oktoberfest

Another bottle I piked up at Barley's and Hop's was the Otter Creek Oktoberfest. The beer has an orange amber color and pours with no head. There is a slight malt aroma. The taste is a little spicy at first, but does not finish with too much flavor. The alcohol content is 4.8% ABV. This beer was not bad, but I did not think that it was a great beer either. I've had plenty of better oktoberfests, and I would recommend you bypass this one and try another.

Atwater Blocktoberfest

I picked up a bottle of Atwater Bloktoberfest from Barley's and Hop's. The beer is dark amber in color with a sweet caramel aroma. There a frothy thick head from the pour. It has a sweet malty taste with a carmel undertone. There is a slight sour finish. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. I thought that this is a good oktoberfest, and the caramel accent is delicately balanced with the other flavors in the beer.

Thirsty Dog Barktoberfest

I picked up a bottle of Thirsty Dog Barktoberfest at Barley's and Hop's in Pittsburgh (Hey Pittsburghers: Check this place out!). The beer is amber in color with a fresh malty aroma. The taste is sweet and malty with a slightly sour finish. Surprisingly, the beer had a toasted malt undertone which I have not tasted in any other oktoberfest. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was a very good oktoberfest, especially with the toasted dynamic. It really adds to the flavor of the beer and makes it an original oktoberfest.

Lancaster Brewing Company Oktoberfest

I stopped into Lancaster Brewing Company to grab some food and a glass of their Oktoberfest. The beer is amber in color with a light frothy head. It has a malty aroma.The taste is sweet and malty with crisp hops on the tongue. There is also a slight hint of caramel. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was an excellent oktoberfest beer, and the freshness was apparent. It actually ranks up there as one of my favorite oktoberfest beers. I plan on making a return visit for another pint or two.

Troegs Mad Elf

I stopped by Troegs and they had freshly bottled 22-ounce pounders of Mad Elf available, so naturally I picked one up for myself. This is the most anticipated beer of the year for me. The beer is reddish amber in color with a creamy frothy head. It smells sweet of alcohol and cherries. The taste is slightly bitter chocolate with cherry hints. It finishes a little sweet with a honey undertone. The alcohol content is 11% ABV. This is the freshest I have ever tasted Mad Elf, and it was excellent. Letting the beer warm up a little too helps release all of the flavors on your tongue. The crispness of the hops hitting with the slight sourness of the cherries and sweetness of the chocolate and honey will make your tongue dance like the “visions of sugar plums.”

Flying Fish Oktoberfish

A bar in Philadelphia that I was at had Flying Fish Oktoberfish on draft and I did not hesitate to order a glass. The beer is amber in color and has a slight caramel aroma. The taste is hitting on sweet malts with hints of caramel and brown sugar. The beer finishes a little spicy due to the hops. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. I thought that this beer was very good overall. The caramel and hops played with each other, trying to be the more dominant flavor.